ATS alert!!!!

For me it's lack of interesting threads. I am sick of duplicate threads when people can use the darn search button and find their topic already
discussed. I have noticed this a lot. I am literally on ats all day and night when I am not at work.

I am also sick of seeing "oh I saw this look" and they have a pic or video with NOTHING in it!

. I am also tired of all the fighting back and forth on threads...

It's also annoying to see a thread pop up like: "the positives of being Christian" and then someone does "the negatives of being Christian" First
of all those are peoples opinions and where is the conspiracy?

That is what also drives me nuts now, people who think EVERYTHING is a conspiracy! I get tired of seeing a good title and then there is nothing to
back up their claim, just their own opinion...

It also annoys me when someone feels the need to make a thread out of something already being discussed just because they think their answer is more
important! If there is a thread about it contribute, dont make it seem like your answer deserves a thread all it's own and then complain nobody reads
it.

Trolls, get a life or find a hobby!

I like contributing to threads but lately it seems people are WAY too sensitive when you tell them they are wrong ESP when they ask to be proven
wrong! Dont ask if you dont want the truth! People need to learn to take constructive criticism!

These are my reasons why I am not posting as much. As for threads I dont have time to do the research right now since I am busy with school and work.

One would put the lack of activity down to this being the Easter Holidays, and also more people working harder than usual to make a living. ATS is
like that, the traffic will pick up again soon probably, then ya-all can go back to moaning and whining, point scoring etc etc.

I have been noticing the same same thing (declining posting) as well. Having not read every post in this thread so far (mea culpa), at the risk of
repeating points that may have been made, I chalk it up to two main sources.

I. ISSSUE THE FIRST
People are afraid of being labeled a "conspiracy theoriest" after certain regrettable incidents involving violence that have been pinned on
nebulosuly defined "lone internet conspiracy nuts." The profiling may feel like it is hitting a little too close to home for some, even if their
intentions are perfectly law-abiding. (For the record, let me state unequivocally that I in no way advocate the breaking of any laws whatsoever; it is
sad I even have to say that, as a law-abiding free-thinker, but say it I must.) People have been reading stories about the draconian net monitoring
tactics coming down the pike or which may already be in place. Given this, I suppose a number of "airmchair patriots" who once strutted around these
parts have gone to ground and decided to lay low for awhile. There is a lot to be said about this, but let me for now just fall back on my dirt-farmer
grandaddy's old saying: "it is what it is." Personally. I have images of Thomas Paine lurching drunkenly across the tavern table with his rusty
twopenny knife, ready to castrate anyone who would be willing to to self-stifle their own freedom of discourse so easily. But hey, that's just me and
my overexcitable imagination.

II. ISSSUE THE SECOND
A lot of long-time ATSers (including yours truly) are getting fed up with the knee-jerk partisan sniping and the "two-legs-bad-four
legs-good"-style frothery that passes for discourse in a number of threads. Its like tiptoeing through a minefield to to post anything remotely
political, hoping you don't hit a verbal tripwire and send some lughead off on a tirade that is totally irrelevant to your main point. I get tired of
explaining the same stuff over and over. And even more tiresome, explaining what I'm not. No, I'm not an Obamabot because I happen to disagree with
person A. And no, I'm not a right wing loon because I happen to disagree with person B. When people pick their worldview first and try to make the
facts fit ideology, it always ends in disaster. When people study history and take a flexible, realistic, situation-by-situation approach to analysis,
wisdom is within reach. Too bad the latter takes patience, time, and an attention-span not Swiss-cheezed by Twitter.

There was a time, not so long ago, where it seemed people were working TOGETHER to some extent at least to suss out the geopolitical tectonics at the
root of TBTB...things that go beyond left and right. Disagreements abounded of course, but they were relatively polite and tended to open the field to
further speculation rather than be used as cudgles to silence all dissenting views.

Now, tragically, it seems the disagreements and polarizations have become too shrill
and turned off the more thoughtful, nuanced, historical-minded thinkers, drowning out the well-reasoned analysis in a sea of soundbite hysteria. Its
painful to watch and even more painful to participate in, so I find myself withdrawing from the fray.

In the face of this spreading "political madness," I spend more time on the spiritual, psychological, paranormal, and ancient-culture type parts of
this board, but even there, the action has become slow and disultory, it seems. Spiritual speculation is hastily snapped at by the hardcore athiests
on one side and the hardcore fundamentalists on the other, mirroring the loss in complexity in political topics. Besides, why speculate baroquely on
ancient matters when the front-page news seems increasingly more bizzare than even the most florid Aegyptoid or Annunaki fever dream?

ATS is still an excellent "early warning system" for explosive news events that fly under the MSM radar, but unless the original civility that drew
me into this place can be restored, I fear very much for a community that has come to mean more to me personally than I ever imagined possible.

I read the news a lot and I see the daily topics from Drudge and others getting posted here at ATS. I think some people want to discuss those things
that are in the daily news. Those people aren't necessarily digging in and doing any research on anything. They just want to discuss this stuff with
people they think will be of similar mind.

You people could probably say that I post 97% garbage opinion, but that other 3% of my posts are the real gems I'm dropping in here in order to find
somebody that knows what I'm talking about.

Even my opinion on the daily news topics is worthy, I think, because it is consistent and not cognitively dissonant.

But really I'm here to drop some hints and get some hints. It hasn't worked so far, but I stay optimistic. I've never found anybody willing to talk
about what I research or even understand what I research. But hey ATS is supposed to be the place.

Originally posted by mblahnikluver
I am also sick of seeing "oh I saw this look" and they have a pic or video with NOTHING in it![/qoute]

First of all, Hello. Secondly, I'm guilty of this a few hrs ago. Why? Because the video I was trying to upload had problems on youtube. So, I
apologize, I'm only human. * FYI, I alerted the mods ASAP about it.*

I am also tired of all the fighting back and forth on threads...

I agree with you here. It's getting old.

It's also annoying to see a thread pop up like: "the positives of being Christian" and then someone does "the negatives of being
Christian" First of all those are peoples opinions and where is the conspiracy?

Duh, we can't PROVE anything about ANY religion. Therfor, IT IS a conspiracy.

That is what also drives me nuts now, people who think EVERYTHING is a conspiracy! I get tired of seeing a good title and then there is nothing
to back up their claim, just their own opinion...

Where are the facts in ANY conspiracy? Isn't that why it's called a CONSPIRACY? If we had actual facts about (insert topic here), it wouldn't be a
conspiracy. It would be general knowledge of said topic.

Well to be perfectly honest, I was tired last night and I was working on a thread (to be posted when I consider it finished).

As for my personal content, only 9 Applauses so far this year (about average--maybe slightly above). Of which, five were in my own threads. I have
received maybe around 500 stars (which is my indicator for personal quality) and 30 flags or so (which is above average).

I have started more threads this year than in the past and have posted more in the past year, than in my first three years. As for the quality, some
threads have been better than others. One had about 100 times the replies than average--but I didn't consider it a high quality thread comparatively.

I guess it is all how you consider things. Your personal mood will effect your perception. I try to always look at things with a fresh mind, but not
always successful, and that does cloud my judgement of others.

I have only nominated one post so far this year for an applause (which is off pace--should be 3-4 by now). I don't consider that as a decline of
quality, just a lack of my attention to the promotion of others perhaps. I have been more self-absorbed this year.

I too have noticed a decline in long well written posts or civilized debates.

When I first joined the site years ago it was common to have long well written posts and civilized debates.

Even in 2007 it was still fine. In 2008, I began to notice a shift. There were many new posters, most didn't spend time on making avatars and only
made quick quips. Bad english began to appear in many of these quick quips. Hostility also flared up more often, with insults flying especially over
specific subjects. At the time I still noticed some good posts and debates though.

In 2009, things soured even further. More juvenile posts, more posters without avatars, and less civilized debate. Even some of the posters who had
made good long posts in the past began to lose decorum. They still had well written posts, but attempts at debate worsened. Insults and angry hate
filled speech became far more common. The mods have done a great job at trying to stop it, but this new culture is relentless.

So far this year, its been like 2009.

Some of it I blame on txt messaging. At college we have seen the same effect from the use of cell phones. Think about the fact that a number of
posters now post from their phones. They simply don't have time or patience to type well thought out posts or respond in a manner that is civilized.

Some of it is 4chan. Some of those guys were lured by the wacky antics and writings on here. These are the kind of people to troll and quickly get
banned.

One other factor is politics. Since 2008, angry political posts really went through the roof. In 2009 it was even worse. In 2010, there are now many
openly militant posters ready to start the Second French Revolution.

I still participate and keep posting for a number of reasons.

1. ATS is still faster at most news than television media. The news media, CNN, Fox, and MSNBC, have really gotten worse in the past few years. So ATS
is a decent alternative.

2. There is nowhere else for me to go. Some of the other sites like ATS are openly Anti American, Anti US military or Judeophobic. ATS still has many
true patriots, military personnel, and Jews that participate in the forums.

3. ATS still has some really great posters and great moderators.

This really is still one of the greatest sites on the world wide web, even if quality has declined some. I just hope after the November US
congressional elections that some people calm down. ATS when I found it in 2004 was a site full of UFO conspiracies, Forteanism and tons of paranormal
stories.

Simply, I want more Charles Fort and less Glenn Beck.

I can remember a time that Rense was like that. I had found it in high school back in the late 90s, when it was still called sightings. It had
relation to the Sci Fi channel show "Sightings" at the time. I always went there for alternative news and Fortean stories. The Sci Fi channel show
went off the air in 1997 and sightings was renamed Rense in 2000.

Then Rense shifted into Judeophobia and insanity after 9-11. I eventually stopped visiting the site.

Though i was never a thread starter , i do enjoy contributing to other peoples threads .
Recently , the doom and gloom factor has become a little bit too much here on ATS. And of course its not without cause , ATS reflects what is
happening in the memberships day to day lives and a lot of people are anxious for the future. This is now an international phenomenon .

This anxiety and discontent is finding its way more and more into these boards ...... which is understandable- people wishing to vent their
frustrations .

..................... sometimes i have enough of my own concerns without adding to them here , ATS no longer represents an escapist bubble of ideas
for me any longer ...... more of a `anxiety amplifier` of sorts .

Not that i am easily swayed by the many `Chicken Littles` posting on ATS , far from it , but their is a creeping incremental effect of such negativity
which can wear even the most resilient individual down .

==============================================
So , this is where i`m at ...... i wonder has anybody had a similar experience of late ?
==============================================

I don't know about the numbers dropping. My two cents would be........there is alot of political sniping going on, on both sides. However, how boring
would the world be if we all agreed? The same topics seem to be getting beat to death over and over. A person starts a thread and immediately other
threads are brought into it with excuses and attacks made on both sides. Yes, I think some people on here have too large of an ego, and that may keep
people from posting from fear of ridicule. At the end of the day, all this boils down to is peoples opinions, maybe some people take it too seriously.
As far as the "lame" posts, if people think they are lame, make your own. I don't post on threads that don't interest me, simple as that, maybe
other people should follow suit. As a last observation....as far as the sites PTB, Yeah they seem to have been stricter here as of late, I've called
them on it....however, things have been a little more heated than usual on here as of late. Is it possible they are simply trying to keep this the
same enjoyable place?

Facts, I mean some sort of evidence to back up the claims. Say someone says John Doe is an illuminati member, well show the links that make you
think that. Dont just say hey is one and that is that.
When posting a well known UFO incident, dont just post the video and say look what do you think..Why not post the info that goes along with it and
most well known cases have tons of info. To me it's laziness and people dont want to do the work themselves, they want others to give them info.

Also we do have some quality contributors who have left over the past 6 months or so, and the boards have certainly taken a noticable hit.

With summer coming so quickly, the influx of new members that are just getting new to the site and us the older members enjoying the beautiful weather
and not spending so much time on here are certainly a factor.

I'm gonna give it a few more months along with waiting for the redesign before I can clearly say whether or not it's in decline or just it's usual
"slump".

Having plowed through the whole thread (hey, it's REALLY good coffee I made this morning), I think there are many facets that may well contribute to
our perception that content has declined at ATS.

A coupla ideas:

1. I have to agree with the perspective of Woodwardjnr, in that the "recent posts" or popular threads seem to have lately become far more
USA-centric than when I first joined. I don't think that most Americans care less about the rest of the world, but perhaps feel more threatened
than in past times. Akin to that perhaps there was a more universal American disdain for the previous administration, at least on a conspiracy
site.

2. I think people feel more helpless these days... on a fast ride with rusty and broken tracks and no safe place to bail, and what is the natural
tendancy? To assess blame. My view is that sometimes we could stand to debate the issues more than reinforce our causation of the problem. Some
feel inclined to fight back against a sense of oppression, but where is the enemy to be found? Remember
POGO?

3. I value humor above many things. A pity I'm not as skilled at it as I think I am. Humor and a sense of kinship here might have slipped a
tad lately as people become more alarmed and overwhelmed with the state of the world. I suggest that while it's harder to laugh, harder to create
reasons to laugh, that humor is more necessary than ever.... vital, even.

4. I think it's possible that a small percentage of the members feel that they are in a 'race' to post new threads when information appears on
various sites, and might not spend the appropriate amount of time in making a quality thread in order to be the first to post it. I noticed this
trend with myself and NASA-related threads, and have since elected to take my time, make the thread as interesting as I could, and if someone posts it
in the meantime, then just add what I had prepared to their thread. It doesn't matter who is first, what matters is our contributions and that the
thread gives enough information to encourage response/debate.

Slayer, your a man of action,i can guess why you may be getting a little complacent, i have to agree, the board has taken its sporadic, yet inevidable
turn for the dull.

This tends to happen i believe when a subject such as the Health care bill or the US government has done this or that, so being a predominately
american based website, i believe theres a few current events that have hit close to home for my american friends.

Pulling alot of members in to where they may find answers of there current states.

Perhaps more members are posting via the heart lately and not posting via the mind as usual.

There will be more action soon Slayer, i promise. We're just in a phase of a bit of R & R.

1. I'm super busy with school.
2. Relationship trouble. Like, my boyfriend broke up with me two nights ago on some "I just want to see what it'll be like for a week and maybe stay
there" thing and honestly I'm just on ATS while I'm waiting for some friends to get ready.
3. Afraid I'll get my head bitten off if I say... anything... on this website. Especially regarding politics.
4. Frustration with people who put zero effort into posts. Including simple things like punctuation.
5. I miss Justin and sort of don't want to be here right now.

Thanks for the U2U Slayer, Yea, to be honest i've noticed the same ol' threads on the main page for a bit too long recently, I'm sure I used to
find something new and interesting on the main page every day, recently it's been the same threads up for a good while... hopefully people are busy
collating ideas for threads. I myself have been spending time reading up so that I can create some decent thread for during the spring... also...maybe
people are starting to use the 'search' function more often? it's a nice thought. I see many threads being created that have existed previously in
one form or another... Perhaps the collective consciousness requires some 'R and R', it has been a hectic year since christmas, I am thoroughly
enjoying four days off from the standard madness.......

also the weather is quite nice, I nearly went outside for some fresh air...and then i saw this thread!

I don't mind cellphone posts at all. There was a time that it implied to me a lack of ability to research, but lately phones/devices have nearly as
much computing power as a computer. Myself, I hate qrty-typing with my thumbs, so that would feel limiting, however those who've learned to use it
properly are pretty speedy.

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